Kitchen Tool you had an 'a ha' moment with ......

I am not the head cook in the family, but I LOVE gadgets.....I can't believe that I have lived these ## years without a cherry pitter- OMG I totally enjoy fresh cherries so much more when I can pit them in bulk and then eat (or GLOM) them easily!! Yeah Wegmans for using them in a sampling demonstration that was to showcase the cherries and NOT the tool.

What kitchen tool can't you live without or changed your kitchen life??

Not watery at all if drained first. I also don't have strings, just bigger texture. My friends love the flavor, and spice mix I use-maybe a different variety of pumpkin then your Jack-O-Lanterns ? Price wise , I get them for around 5 cents a pound after Halloween, and buy upwards of 100# of them since they keep several months.

See that, and I make puréed soups all the time. That's not the only thing I use my immersion blender for, I use it for almost anything I could put in the blender, it just depends on which appliance makes more sense at the time. But the primary reason I bought mine was for soup.

Geez, al, no one here claimed that EVERYONE should run out and buy an immersion blender. If you don't need one, you don't need one. The point is, that for those of us who often make stuff that would normally go in the blender, they can save a lot of time, and streamline prep, especially if pureeing would involve a transfer of the food from the vessel they were prepared in, into the blender.

I've only ever bought one and I love it. I got my Bamix at the local annual fair/exhibition and really love the interchangeable blades for pureeing, frothing/foaming and grinding/chopping. Very easy to clean as well and I use it in the Le Creuset and it doesn't scratch the bottom.

I picked up a KitchenAid SmartStick at BBB a few weeks ago, and you guys were right - it's fantastic! (I would have liked to have gotten a Bamix, but couldn't justify the $$$.) I'll probably never use my regular blender ever again!

I am ashamed to admit that my mother gave me one I-don't-remember-how-many-years-ago, but it sat waaay up in a cabinet til late last year. I finally used it and felt terrible that I never truly appreciated what a thoughtful gift it was. There is one sauce/condiment I make all the time and it truly is a godsend to blend it so easily.

I'm really in love with the new can opener I just bought. I hate electric can openers, and have been on a search for a good manual one for years - I keep getting crappy ones. I just spent $18 on one, and it is wonderful. So easy to use and smooth. Hopefully I will still feel the same about it in a few years.

I don't know if this qualifies as a gadget, but I love my slow cooker. I have chronic illness, and on days that I feel totally crappy, I can have it make dinner for me and my family. Last week did a turkey breast and Italian beef sandwiches in the slow cooker. Used my smaller slow cooker to caramelize some onions overnight. Friday I'll be doing a whole chicken in the slow cooker, and next week, corned beef and homemade chicken tortilla soup.

I had a revelation that I didn't need a whole ice cream maker, just a freezer bowl. It's faster, easier to clean, and doesn't create kitchen clutter. Here's a video of making ice cream just in a freezer bowl (and the well-loved immersion blender makes an appearance, too--that was another Aha! moment for me): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAwLYG...

Pretty simple. Slice up a whole mess of onions, throw into the slow cooker, add some melted butter and salt and stir. Run on low for as long as it takes - when I'm doing a huge batch it can take around 12 hours or so. Stir every 3 or 4 hours - though I've left it going overnight without stirring, and they have been fine, a few in the hotter spots got a little darker. If you have too much liquid, prop the lid on the slow cooker open a crack with a chopstick or a skewer so that it can evaporate.

One of my big slow cookers does have a hot spot, so if I'm using that one to do a big batch I try to stir a bit more often.

it works well. mine didn't get quite dark enough for me, but finishing them on the stovetop was so much easier than doing them that way from scratch. they can also be done on a sheet pan in the oven. i just wish i could remember where I have that link saved.

In the slow cooker, you are likely to get something more like smothered onions than caramelized, since it's all moist heat unless you are using a very small amount, or fiddle with it a lot, stirring and uncovering. At that point you may as well just use a pan on the stove.Easier, if you don't want to monitor the process much, is JoanN's method for caramelizing onions in the oven on a sheet pan. http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/6764...

Disagree vehemently! I do caramelized onions in the slowcooker all the time and they are perfect. I use a technique developed by CI, where they get a little head start in the microwave and then a quick drain to eliminate excess moisture. Perfect every time.

I've never had a problem. If I have a lot of moisture, then I prop the lid with a skewer or a chopstick, and keep going. I stir every once in a while. Sure, it takes some time, but they turn out delicious in the crockpot for me, and it makes things much easier as a chronically ill person.

I love my mortar and pestle. I have a very large granite one I bought for a song at Marshall's, and it's awesome. I've recently immersed myself into Mexican cooking and my mortar and pestle has been getting a great workout. I actually bought a molcajete a long time ago that I never got around to seasoing properly, and I realized, after all the reading I just did, that I bought a crappy one anyway that will always be gritty no matter what I do. Than it dawned on me that the granite mortar and pestle I had would work just fine and I had no need for a molcajete any way. (Can't believe I didn't realize that earlier.) The molcajete is going into the garage sale pile and now I love my mortar and peslte even more than I already did.

Question is how many sets of towels do you have? I think I have 3 different sets - plus I have them in different drawers. I have a couple that I use only for baking - the type that goes directly over foods like bread dough.

I have the set that's used to clean pots, bowls, etc.

Then the final set that's used for hands and another for counter-top. This is the bastard pile that's interchangeable.

If me or a guest happens to use set 1 for set 2 or 3 purposes, that towel is demoted to bastard pile. LOL

And I don't wash my kitchen towels in the washer because you know... underwear is washed there.

I'm with you on the washing machine.... after taking microbiology this summer and being regaled with a lovely story about testing the inside of the washing machine, no more kitchen towels in there, EVER!!! AND periodic bleaching of the inside of it.

Ah, but that's when the Magic House Theory kicks in! I don't doubt your knowledge of microbiology, but figure that generations of us have been exposed to heaven knows what and we're still here. In fact, I hope such exposure has improved my immune system....

I was told by a repair man to run mine once a month empty on its highest heat setting. This apparently kills all (?) the bacteria and disolves all the human (sorry!) grease which does not happen during modern lower temperature cycles.

I stopped using detergent for the most part and just use plain old white vinegar for most of my laundry. (My washer kept getting mildew-y... ick!) I can't believe how clean and fresh the clothes are, and my washer is sparkling too. Plus no lab-created chemicals. Try it - I swear you will feel better about washing your kitchen towels in there, LOL!

Jaz Cooks. Will give distilled white vinegar a try. Have heard good for fancy bath towels. Do you use for everything? How much should I put in a load of wash? Also curious if you have noticed any faster deterioration of fabrics or colors?

Hey Smaki, I use about 1 cup per load, and I do use it for almost everything, but I add a little detergent to jeans. The laundry smells really nice - not at all vinegary, just clean and fresh, and the lint in my dryer seems lighter (quantity) too, so I am guessing it is better for the fabric.

I am a late-comer to white vinegar, but I am learning to LOVE it - I have replaced probably half my cleaning products with it!

Personally I put a little in both the detergent and the fabric softener spaces, and then pour the rest just over the laundry. But I don't think it matters! Smaki: let me know what you think after you run a load. I really hope you are as happy as I was!

I make homemade detergent. I have for a few years now, and wouldn't go back. It is SO much cheaper, and works better. I grate and then process one bar of soap ( I use fels naphtha, but a lot of people use a regular body soap), to one cup of borax, and one cup of arm and hammer washing soda.

Jaz Cooks, Will do. Plan on running a couple loads this week. I think you are on to something as was given some expensive towels once and recall their instructions said to wash multiple times with vinegar in the wash water before use (no soap) to make soft and absorbent - has anyone else ever seen this?

I have been adding 1/2 to 1 cup vinegar a load for a week now (with a regular dose of laundry soap). I add the vinegar to first wash when washer is full of water. Have read vinegar can make soap more effective is why I use both. It does seem to make my mostly-cotton clothes softer and cleaner. Seems to better bring out the colors. Have not noticed it breaking fabrics down, but watching for that. Works great on making my towels soft, clean, and absorbent.

WARNINGS:

1) Do not combine vinegar with bleach. The fumes that arise from this mixture can be hazardous to your health.

2) The overuse of white, distilled vinegar in laundry can lead to a breakdown of clothes made of natural fibers. Articles made out of silk, rayon, acetate, and triacetate can be especially sensitive to white, distilled vinegar.

I wash my hands so many times while cooking, I feel like I'm neurotic about it.* Take meat out of plastic, wash hands so I don't get meaty hands on spice jars.* Grab spice jars and apply to meat. oops, forgot to grab plate to put spiced meat on. * Wash hands, grab plate.* If I only use one hand, use clean hand to return jars.* Wash hands and knives, chopping board.* Place meat in cooking vessel* wash hands.On and on it goes. I'm surprised I eat before midnight.

I can't wait to re-do my kitchen so I can get those built-in soap receptacles with the pump attachment. I find myself washing the dish soap body so many times because by touching the bottle with meaty/fishy/chickeny hands to get some soap, you're contaminating the bottle.

Were we separated at birth? To save myself a step or two, I put my hand in one of those cheapie small baggies (not ziplock kind - that would get expensive) to grab chicken or cuts of meat to turn them for seasoning and use my other hand for sprinkling the seasonings. Then I can save a washing or two, or three, or four....

Sam's Club sells boxes of very thin disposable gloves that are pretty much like a baggie, but shaped like a glove and quite large. Theyre perfect - I can put them on and take them off with one hand. I use them constantly and sometimes change them many, many times whenmaking a big meal if I'm multitasking and moving between fooling around with garlic or onions, then pleeling and slicing apples for pie, and then fooling around with a raw chicken.

I also use them for making meatballs, meatloaf, and tossing any chicken/potato/pasta salads. I only make those kinds of things in large quantities and the spoon just doesn't get down there without catapulting ingredients all over the kitchen.

That's part of the reason why. I have two opposing beasts who would tear each other up over a flying chicken shred. When I'm done, the kitty gets a bit in her bowl, and the dog gets to lick my gloved hands.

My twin. I shop at webstaurantstore.com which is an online restaurant supply store open to all. I currently have a pack (1,000) of disposable kitchen gloves in my cart - only $5. That should last a while.

(Slaps her forehead...) I LOVE the webstaurantstore - I have the site in my favorites. Never thought to look for prep gloves. That price is great, and will add them to my current shopping cart. Thank you, nikkib99!

You're welcome. That site has so many goodies so what I generally do is shop patiently.... so hard. Put a few items in your cart and wait a few days in case something comes to mind to average the shipping costs.

Great place to buy cling film and foil - the price might seem high, but it's about 20x what you get from the store. Don't forget parchment sheets - 100 sheets for about $4. KAF sells it for $20.

And cake tins - after spending $20 on non-stick calphalon, I bought a few cake tins from them for under $4. Could not be any more perfect - releases eaily.

Also great prices on 1/2 sheet pans! I bought 10 of them for less than $50. Besides all the other thousand things I use them for, I use them as cookie sheets, with parchment liners. It's so nice to be able to load up pans without having to wait for them to cool.

2 suggestions: tongs and a stable soap dispenser with a big pump top (which you can push down with an uncontaminated part of your hand/wrist/forearm) or a touch-free one with sensor. I do all my meat prep on the board, wash hands (w/o contaminating the soap dispenser). Then for seasoning and transfer to the cooking vessel, handle the meat only with the tongs that I will cook with anyway, while my hands stay clean. (Someone else then washes the dirty knives, board etc. That's the deal in my house.)

Another fan of stacks and stacks of clean white kitchen towels!Mine are super cheap ( I think many have come from the Dollar Store?) and can be tossed in the (HE) washer with hot hot hot (it steams) water and bleach. When they get "icky" (threadbare) they live the rest of their short lives as cleaning rags.

And of course, sharp knives are a must-have. It's always weird to cook in someone else's kitchen and they have dull knives...and pretty, but useless, dish towels.

I am with you on the white towels. I must have at least 75 white kitchen towels. I over wash my hands when I cook...I keep boxes of gloves from Sam's around at all times. I have a small laundry basket that I keep in the kitchen when I am cooking. I use a new towel almost every time I wipe counters, dry a pot, or wash my hands. At the end of my cooking, it all goes in the washing machine with a ton of bleach. I do not have one dish towel in my house that isn't white...every one of them gets bleach.

This is almost exactly my routine! Minus the disposable gloves - I do have some, but I only use those for hot peppers after an unfortunate experience last year after I cut up a basket of mystery peppers from the farmer's market that turned out to be unbelievably hot and my hands burned for a day and a half, despite milk/yogurt/ice/hydrocortisone cream - never again.

But I'm all about the constantly washing my hands and using up every white kitchen towel. I think I bought a pack of about 50 from Sam's Club and I love them. I can't imagine how I grew up with, like, two kitchen towels.

My dad was always the one who cared about sharpening our knives, so after my parents split I just kind of got used to dull knives.

When I moved out, I got all of Dad's knives he'd left for me when he moved across the country, and I was in heaven! I have such a hard time when I go to Mom's to cook now. I actually cut myself last time because a super-dull knife slipped off an onion....

Sharp knives and a gas stove are my number one necessities now. (And a good wok!)

In addition to knives at other's house, never realized how much I rely on rubber spatula/spoonula/squeegees whatever you call them. Friend only owned wooden spoons that she used for everything. So much food went to waste! No wonder the cakes at her house are dry, half the batter is on the side of the bowl!

I have both, and they just do different jobs. I use silicone spatulas for folding etc., but nothing beats a silicone spoonula for scraping down a bowl while using a stand mixer and really scraping every drop of batter out of the bowl into a pan. Spatulas can do those jobs - but spoonulas just do it that much better.